The DGCA is scurrying to increase its tech workforce by a third as it prepares to face crucial audits by two global aviation bodies from next week.

NEW DELHI: The civil aviation regulator is scurrying to increase its technical workforce by a third as it prepares to face crucial safety audits by two global aviation bodies from next week, which could potentially downgrade India's air safety rating.

The DGCA has merely 320 such officers, who oversee the flying conditions and maintenance of aircraft, against a sanctioned limit of 586. ICAO and FAA have in the past criticised DGCA's persistent manpower deficit, which affects the oversight of airline operations in India.

At the heart of ICAO's audit is the lack of effective implementation (LEI) of its recommended practices and procedures on legislation, airworthiness and accident investigation, among other parameters.

The FAA examines whether another country's oversight of its airlines that operate in the US complies with ICAO's standards. Staff shortage, particularly of technical officers, can earn a poor LEI score because a regulator's key functions such as safety checks on airlines and preflight medical tests of crew are affected. The DGCA badly needs engineers as well as air traffic control and air navigation service officers.

An ICAO safety downgrade will restrict foreign airlines from flying into India and vice versa. In 2008, acting on the recommendation of ICAO, FAA downgraded the air safety ratings of the Philippines and Israel to Category 2 from Category 1 after their aviation watchdogs failed to comply with safety standards.

The aviation ministry has extended the tenure of DGCA boss Arun Mishra, who was previously India's representative to ICAO, by two months until September end to oversee the audits.

DGCA has been unable to attract talent because of a cumbersome recruitment process by the Union Public Service Commission and its inability to match salaries offered by private airlines. In July, the Union cabinet cleared a proposal to replace DGCA with an autonomous regulator, Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), which can use the money drawn from services to hire talent.

The DGCA official who requested anonymity said the regulator is prepared for the audits. He pointed to the improvement of the LEI score from 36% (which means there was only a 66% compliance of ICAO standards) 2006 to 20% (80% compliance) in 2012 after the DGCA doubled the recruitment of technical officers from 148 in 2009 to 320.

Saj Ahmad, chief analyst at aviation consultancy StrategicAero Research, said India's safety record is by and large very good. "India also has a lot more newer airplanes that have helped standards and training has improved significantly over the last 20 years," he said.

India's level of implementation of all parameters tops the global average, according to ICAO data. In airworthiness, for instance, India's score after an ICAO audit in December 2012 was 9 compared with the global average of 7.